A new organization named ZIP MKE has launched a citywide photography movement in hopes to gather photos that represent all 27 zip codes of Milwaukee by the end of the year.
The idea of ZIP MKE is to gather photo submissions through a team of six self-proclaimed “Zipsters,” and also invite Milwaukee residents and photographers alike to contribute to the website gallery.
Dominic Inouye created the organization in response the shooting of Sylville Smith by a police officer in August, which led to community outrage, violent incidents and protests. It is also a response to connotations that people had been using while they discussed the incident.
“It’s not like these terms are anything new, but I heard with greater, concentrated frequency and fury the dichotomous and divisive terms: ‘city/inner city,’ ‘urban/suburban,’ ‘good neighborhood/bad neighborhood,’ ‘the hood,’ ‘the ghetto,’ ‘that neighborhood,’ ‘ those people,’ ‘black people/white people’,” said Inouye.
The goal of ZIP MKE is to bring the area together through photos and embrace the cultural diversity and strong sense of community.
ZIP MKE will be offering photo challenges for both amateurs and professionals who would like to submit photos. Photographers interested in submitting photos can visit zipmke.com for details.